


When You Move I Can Recall Something That's Gone from Me

by grandfatherclock, smokeandjollyranchers



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Dom Caleb Widogast, Dom/sub Undertones, M/M, Mention of established widojest, PWP, Polyamory, wobbly POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-30 23:21:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21436369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grandfatherclock/pseuds/grandfatherclock, https://archiveofourown.org/users/smokeandjollyranchers/pseuds/smokeandjollyranchers
Summary: Essik doesn’t know how they ended up here. Caleb is watching him with that excited gaze of his, eyes dark and seeming to shine in the light emitting from ornate arcane lights. Essik truly did not even intend for them to fuck when he invited Caleb into his house for a private lesson with some of his more experimental spells, he figured the other image's expertise in transmutative magic would've resulted in some helpful council regarding a new personal project of his. Then Caleb touched his hand longer than he strictly needed to, and Caleb bit his lip when he caught Essik watching him, and Caleb was just…Caleb. Which was to say he was competent and respectful and charming, and made Essikwant.And Essik does. Want him.
Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 8
Kudos: 174





	When You Move I Can Recall Something That's Gone from Me

**Author's Note:**

> Title from [_Movement_](https://open.spotify.com/track/1djzKW3eYLyzjjHXazEWWh?si=k8ExUSe-TyOZBFztC7UTpw) by Hozier!
> 
> This fic has established polyamorous Caleb/Jester in the background! The smut is all Caleb/Essik, however.
> 
> The perspective is all wobbly because this is based off RP!

Essik doesn’t know how they ended up here. Caleb is watching him with that excited gaze of his, eyes dark and seeming to shine in the light emitting from ornate arcane lights. Essik truly did not even intend for them to fuck when he invited Caleb into his house for a private lesson with some of his more experimental spells, he figured the other image's expertise in transmutative magic would've resulted in some helpful council regarding a new personal project of his. Then Caleb touched his hand longer than he strictly needed to, and Caleb bit his lip when he caught Essik watching him, and Caleb was just… _Caleb_. Which was to say he was competent and respectful and charming, and made Essik _want_.

And Essik does. Want him.

So, he kept his respectful distance when he learned that Caleb and the blue one—and gods, all he can think about when he hears her name now is her curiosity on whether or not he is on a toilet when she messages him—were something of a couple. Caleb’s eyes danced when he talked about her drawings and her god and that _ant_ story, and Essik nodded with disinterest right up until Caleb showed him an old spell he learned in the Empire, alighting Essik’s curiosity. Right up until Caleb's bright eyes and lilting accent captured his attention and mind and heart and affection.

That Jester Lavorre is a… curiosity. Women really aren't Essik's type, but he supposes he can see her appeal. Her face is freckled and smooth, her eyes vibrant and strange and curious. She dresses well, in layers that curve over her body pleasantly. Essik can imagine Caleb and her being very happy, though Essik doesn't truly know if he himself and Jester will ever achieve that closeness she so clearly desires. Jester touches him incessantly, loud and boisterous and enthusiastic, and Essik sometimes just wants to sigh, as she tries to get him to stay for breakfast or lunch or dinner, whichever is the more relevant. _Stop being so endearing, _he wants to say, petulant in every meaning of the word_. So he stops loving you_.

Essik is a… jealous creature, after all. Jester’s eyes glitter when she catches him watching Caleb, so he’s fairly certain she knows.

And yet.

Jester had the sweetest smile on her face as Essik snapped away his spellbook last week. Caleb had gone to deal with some crisis in the laboratory, Nott screeching that she may have caused the air to become _lightly_—she stressed that word unconvincingly—poisoned, and Jester leaned against the doorway. _He liiiiiikes you_, she giggled, and Essik froze. His heart seemed to race, and as he looked to her— _But he lovesssss me_.

He scowled. That sentence was a little crueler than he anticipated from her, she of many dick jokes and pastries, but Jester should get to gloat. Her boyfriend is a catch, and Essik briefly entertains himself with the thought of warm pink lips against his own and blue eyes fluttering shut into their kiss before blinking back to attention with her. _Yes, well,_ he sighed, crossing his arms as he floated above her short form. She watched him with an eyebrow impishly raised. _I know_.

Jester’s smile only widened. _But he really likes you._

There was something about her wiggling eyebrows that made him feel like a lovesick schoolboy whose infatuation was about to be revealed. _You would share your boyfriend, Lavorre?_ He was… more than a little shocked. Jester didn't seem like the sort who would want to share in her fairytale romance, the woman loved and wanted fiercely.

_I loooooove him, _she sang. _And I want him to be happy._ She grinned up at him, a wicked little glint in her eye. _And fucking you would make him happy._

Essik was speechless for a moment and that is… rare. He knew he completely misjudged this situation to an embarrassing degree, the fact that Jester shocked him into speechlessness. That was… unbecoming of a spymaster, to be so surprised by someone's nature, and either he was not as good as he thought, or Jester was better than he anticipated. Essik, as he excused himself hastily from that conversation, thought he knew the answer.

He was a very good spymaster, after all.

For the rest of the day, he tried desperately to ignore the proposition as he found himself escorted by guards to his next meeting. And, well. He failed.

Caleb is eyeing him now, and Essik is… enjoying it very much. So very much that he can’t even begin to get annoyed at how his ears are flushing just slightly. “Your girlfriend offered you up like meat,” he says conversationally, the two of them standing in Essik’s living room. The lesson is over, technically.

Caleb is supposed to leaving, technically.

Caleb’s smile widens. “I told her to.”

That is ridiculously hot, to hear him just say that, and Essik just sighs. “It’s a strange kink she has.”

Caleb is watching his mouth. “She likes when I’m happy.”

The same words Jester used. Essik exhales through his teeth. "... It's a strange sort of generosity," he allows after a moment, and then he sets his feet to the ground, watching Caleb. The look in his eyes is dark, and Essik takes a careful step forward, hand reaching to rest on the crook of his neck. The fingers slowly curl into his hair.

“Jester believes in spreading happiness.” Caleb answers, leaning into his touch. “It usually leads into some sort of chaos.” Caleb’s blackened thumb barely trails Essik’s bottom lip. “It’s a nice way to worship.”

This is... dangerous. The way Caleb is smiling at him is dangerous, and Essik decides, feeling the rough of that finger against his lower lip in this moment, that it's... worth seeing what this calculated risk gets him. He thinks wryly that by the Luxon, the idea that there is anything calculated about the flush dancing on his skin gives him far more credit than he deserves. Essik leans close, finger curling tight in his red hair as he pulls Caleb into a kiss.

Caleb sighs into it, and he pulls Essik closer, his tongue running against Essik’s lip. Caleb has wanted this for a while now, and he intends to discover everything he can.

Truly, this couch is not the best place for a good fuck, but Essik finds himself reclining over Caleb on it anyway, a hand curving onto his waist while Essik's tongue searches his mouth, running over Caleb's teeth as he braces a knee between Caleb's parted thighs. His fingers clench into the red hair, and he feels Caleb grinning against his lips as Essik bites into his lower one. "Impatient," he says, pleased.

"Depends on the perspective," Essik hums under his breath. "You could say I've been very"—he breaks his sentence to kiss Caleb, hand threading through his strands—"_patient_."

“You could.” Caleb hums, an amused smile on his face. “If you weren’t the one holding back this whole time. That wasn’t _patient_, that was _denial_.” Caleb eyes get dark. “I’ve been curious about what you’re like when you lose that control.”

"_You_," Essik says, and he runs his tongue over Caleb's lower lip. "You're just full of curiosity, aren't you?" He allows a light hint of teasing to colour his voice as he feels Caleb's hands past his heavy cloak, fingers reaching along the silver mantle to pull it off. "It's almost as if you've been thinking about the best way to undress me, you're... remarkably efficient." He grins as Caleb sets his mantle to the side, pulling the cloak off past his shoulders.

Caleb smirks, fingers deftly unbuttoning Essik’s shirt as he does. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” His thumb traces the line of Essik’s collarbone. “Perhaps I’m just intuitive to what the Shadowhand wants.”

"Clever," Essik sighs, and he's trailing his lips along Caleb's jaw as his hand on Caleb's waist starts to pull off his shirt, exposing the delicate pale skin stark against his black trousers. "Aren't you _clever_?" He whispers this against Caleb's ear, tongue running along the shell of it. Caleb's skin is warm to his touch, and Essik drags his nails just a little against it. He pulls back only so his shirt can come off, and even the seconds separated by the veil of the white cloth feels like too much.

“You’re always so composed.” Caleb grins, stretching out underneath Essik. “I’m not clever, I’m _pushing_ you. I want to see you.”

Essik watches him for a moment, watches that smile on his lips. He's still wearing his looser black and grey robes that he tends to wear underneath his cloak, and reflects for a moment that that this is probably the least amount of clothing someone has seen him in for a long time. And apparently Caleb has been watching him keep himself wound up for a _while_. Apparently so has _Jester_. He's not... good at this.

"I want to see you too," Essik says, thinking about the beautiful symmetry of Caleb's face. The simplest way between two points is a line after all, and Essik is tired of walking in circles.

Which is why he moves his knee gently against Caleb's crotch, smiling at the intake in breath. "_Lovely_," he says, and then he's lowering down, a kiss against his pale collarbones that turns to a bite.

Caleb groans, his hand tailing up Essik’s back and into his hair. “You can bite me harder than that, Shadowhand.”

"_I can_," Essik says, watching the way the pale skin darkens under the ministrations of his teeth. Essik is... a little obsessed with the way _Shadowhand_ sounds in that accented, breathless voice. He lowers his head once more, hand once more on Caleb's side but this time touching bare skin. He breathes against the mark, feeling Caleb's fingers curl in his hair, and then grins against his throat, teeth rough as they sink in. He's faintly aware of his fingers digging into Caleb too, and the thought of seeing those marks later makes him excited.

Caleb sighs, the hand in Essik’s hair trembling as he does. He can feel Essik touching his skin, and Caleb brings his other hand to Essik’s chest. “Undress, Shadowhand.”

Oh. _Oh_. Essik smirks, raising his head to give Caleb a searing kiss before undoing the intricate latches and ties of his robes. Caleb watches dark purple skin slowly revealed as Essik pulls off his top, exposing his lithe frame for Caleb's eyes and the room. He puts his hand on the crook of Caleb's throat once more, and kisses him again, tilting his head carefully. Caleb flutters his eyes shut for a good couple seconds as he feels Essik's nose grazing his own, and then opens them as he feels Essik's hand on his waist lower down, stroking up Caleb's length through his trousers.  Caleb’s moans are smothered between their lips, and his warm hands come to trail skin, _Essik’s skin_, bare and exposed. Caleb deepens the kiss, moving his hips into his hands.

Caleb's blackened fingers—and _oh_, does Essik remember what a curiosity they were right up until he first saw the man detonate a _Fireball_ with half his face encased in shadow, like he was born for it, like the flame was just another part of his body, and suddenly the burns made all that much more sense—are searing against Essik's skin, and Essik trails a thumb over his nipple. He pinches it before breaking the kiss to bite down against Caleb's sternum. His white hair falls forward a little, against Caleb's skin, and Essik feels Caleb's hand in his hair. He smiles as he runs his tongue over Caleb's nipple, fingers curling purposefully to grip Caleb's cloth against the fabric. He's _hard_, and Essik hums under his breath, scraping his teeth against the pale skin of Caleb's stomach.

Caleb runs his hand through Essik’s hair, eyes dark as he works his way down Caleb’s chest. He gasps as Essik tightens his fingers around him, a grin on his face. “You’re more aggressive than I would’ve imagined.”

Essik lazily jerks Caleb, fingers insistent on his length, and his smile widens as he bites into the soft skin right above the waistband of his trousers. "And don't you just look like the cat that ate the canary?" He allows fondness to soften the way he enunciates his syllables, rounding them out as he watches Caleb's face. "Aren't you so very pleased?"

“Aren’t _you_?” Caleb’s smug grin becomes a little softer, and he moves his hand to run his thumb over his lower lip again. “Aren’t you so _very_ pleased I’m on your couch?”

Essik closes his eyes and leans to Caleb's touch, exhaling before grinning at him. He lowers himself down, and watching Caleb's face as he presses a kiss against the covered head of Caleb's cock. "_Very_," he nearly hisses.

Caleb gasps, head falling back on the couch. “I am too, _more_ than pleased to _see you_ like this.”

Essik slowly peels down the black fabric, cupping Caleb through his underwear for a moment before pulling that down too. He grins down at pale, slender thighs, unmarked and perfect, and hums under his breath as he runs his fingers featherlight up Caleb's cock, biting into Caleb's thigh.

“_Fuck_.” Caleb sighs, eyes screwing shut. “Shadowhand, you’re a _tease_.”

"It might've been denial earlier," he says conversationally, "but it's _patience_ now." Essik smiles, bringing his hand forward to run it over his fingers. The sound Caleb makes as Essik times jerking him off with his slicked hand and running his tongue over the bruise he just left on Caleb's thigh is fucking sublime.

“You like to take your time,” Caleb says, and there’s something knowing in his smile even as he moans to Essik’s ministrations. There’s something on his face, and Essik blinks, watching the arc of his hand as he threads it through his hair. Not pulling, just watching him. There’s a dark look in his eye, this promise to the way Caleb’s trace over Essik’s exposed collarbone, and it reminds Essik absurdly of himself, reminds him of that time in the—and _fuck_, only the Mighty Nein would name their house this—_Xhorhouse_ when he told Caleb to _show me _the extent of his magic.

Caleb is asking him to _show me_, and Essik finds himself blinking back the desire to stretch this on, to keep control, face lowering to run his tongue up Caleb’s cock from his base to his head. Caleb moans, but seems pleased—and Essik is realizing he likes it, likes the smugness on Caleb’s face as Essik opens his lips and starts to suck on his cock, massaging Caleb’s base with his careful fingers. _I'm not clever_, Caleb moaned earlier. _I'm pushing you_.

“You’re so good,” Caleb groans now, and his blue eyes seem to glitter. “Of course you’re a prodigy at this too.” Essik feels a thrill of warmth wash over him, and Caleb’s fingers in his hair curl. It’s possessive and a little proud, and Essik leans into it, leans into his searing touch as he bobs his head, lowering his head down to take more of him. “I could watch you forever.” Caleb sighs, and Essik finds himself hard at his tone, at the prospect of warming Caleb’s cock for whatever _forever_ means to a human. He tightens his fingers on Caleb, going lower, and Caleb’s trembling thighs as he throws his head back are perfect.

“You’re so talented,” Caleb sighs, and the movement of his thumb against Essik’s scalp is so grounding. “One of the most talented mages I’ve ever met.” His smile widens as he feels Essik’s moan against him, and Essik feels the flush on his skin deepen. “And clever, too, no wonder you were made the Shadowhand for the Dynasty.”

Essik… is whimpering, and he wonders how he allowed himself to give up control so easily. Wonders if Caleb can tell how much he enjoys this, how the feeling of running his tongue along the underside of Caleb’s cock, mouth full and feeling surrounded by those rough fingers gripping his white hair, is a little extraordinary, a little perfect, a little kind of heaven. He moves his head again, hollowing out his cheeks as he sucks, and he enjoys the way Caleb’s thighs jerk, his back arching for a moment as he hisses, “_Perfect_, you’re _perfect_ at this, Shadowhand.”

Essik sighs, and loses himself to Caleb’s lilting accent, perfectly content to do _this_. And he does, time seeming to slow into a lazy crawl as he figures out what exactly about his mouth makes Caleb sigh, makes Caleb moan_._ It’s only Caleb gently pulling Essik up off his dick and into a searing kiss that interrupts this, Essik’s used mouth searched by Caleb’s warmth tongue as he shifts them both until it's Essik against the couch pillows.

Caleb’s dark eyes watch the way he runs his tongue over his lip, almost possessive over him. “It’s impressive how good you are. I can’t wait to _show_ you how good you are. “

Essik feels a flush crawling on his face as he leans back against the pillows. The sensation of them is soft against his bare back, the silk gentle against his skin. Caleb's hand trailing over his shoulder and then down his arm provides a momentary warmth, and Essik forces his mouth open, forces words to leave his lips. "I think that would be quite something," he murmurs, Caleb's hair falling forward a little as he hovers over Essik. "Show me how good I am." He smiles.

Caleb’s grin becomes a smirk, and he trails a finger down Essik’s sternum. “Your skin is _flawless_, Shadowhand. Don’t make a habit of being hit often?” His tongue follows the same path his finger did, and he nips softly.

Essik's hand reaches out to run through Caleb's hair. He watches his purple fingers amongst the red for a moment. "You only live to be a powerful mage if you're very good at not getting hit," he says, amused.

Caleb grins at that, knowing he himself covered in scars. “Maybe so.” He hums, popping back up to run his tongue up Essik’s neck, teeth scraping over collarbone. “But you’re getting _marked_ today.”

Essik exhales, this breathless little laugh as he feels Caleb bite into him. "I bet you like having a clean canvas to work with," he says, and it very nearly sounds like teasing.

Caleb grins, pulling off his neck to look at the bruise. “It’s making me a little _possessive_.”

Essik's next breath is a little uneven. "Yes, well." His throat is a little dry in anticipation as he watches Caleb's face, watches that smile spread on those pretty lips. "I'm excited to see that, too."

Caleb doesn’t answer him, just gently moves Essik’s head to the side, and he runs his tongue over the purple bruise on his skin. He can’t help but think that Jester would just love the color. He exhales against the wet skin, lips grazing Essik’s neck as he speaks. “I’m excited to see you _keen_, Shadowhand.”

Hm, that's rare—Essik feels for a moment his thread of thought just _stutter_ to a stop, a soft sigh slipping past his lips as he feels Caleb grinning against him. His hand is still in Caleb's hair, and he runs his thumb against his scalp in a small circle. "I can't wait to see you work for it." He closes his eyes for a moment as he feels Caleb's teeth.

Caleb likes his attitude, he really does. He likes how it makes him _harder_, he likes how Essik does truly seem to be affected by this, and Caleb trails lower, marking his neck, his shoulders, taking _time_ with his nipples. The Shadowhand needs to _relax._

Essik hums under him, and Caleb smiles against his skin at the first moan that startles out his mouth as Caleb runs his tongue against his nipple. Essik's skin flushes a deeper purple along his neck, along his shoulders and the top of his chest, and it's a lovely sight, seeing the skin around Essik's marks darken. He watches the skin flush, watches the way Essik sighs, and he softly, but _noticeably_ palms Essik through his trousers. “Truly beautiful.”

Essik gently tugs Caleb forward with the hand tight in his hair, a slight pressure that doesn't hurt in the least as he slants his lips against Caleb's. Caleb can feel Essik's hips twitch a little, and smiles at the intake of breath as Caleb tightens his grip for just a moment before loosening it again. "Your silvertongue," Essik groans, "is one of my favourite things about you."

Caleb kisses him, taking the pace back and slowing it down, tongue fucking into his mouth, his other hand rubbing Essik softly. “You’ve just not been charmed enough,” he whispers against Essik’s lips. “I’ll fix that for you.”

Essik makes a _sound_, and Caleb grins against him as he realizes it sounded especially close to a whine. "Are you, Widogast?" he says, their lips still touching as Essik moves his hips a little, against Caleb's hand on his covered cock. He gives Caleb a searching look, and then his smile is cat-like as he relaxes his shoulders against the pillows under him. He looks gorgeous, his hair disheveled and dark marks glistening in the light where Caleb's mouth ran over them. "I think I believe you." His eyes run over Caleb's own marked chest, a perfect pathway to where he sucked his dick. He doesn't look at the scars, and it's only further confirmation to Caleb that this idea he had, this idea of fucking Essik Theylas, was a good one.

“You should.” Caleb murmurs, sinking his teeth into Essik’s bottom lip. He keeps steadily pushing his palm down against Essik’s cock, just enough pressure to know his hand is _there_, just enough to _not_ be enough. “I want you _undressed_, Shadowhand.”

Essik blinks at him, his breath uneven. "_Fuck_," he moans, and Caleb grins as Essik parts his thighs a little wider, the hand not in Caleb's hair reaching down to undo the straps and intricacies of his breeches. Caleb watches, memorizing the pattern of it, and smiles as he sees Essik's hand trembling a little, not as graceful as he usually is. "You're so handsome when you get what you want," Essik says, lips quirking up, "that I can't help giving it to you. Every time."

Caleb grins at that, and leans down to kiss Essik again, helping him slide his pants down his hips. He then breaks the kiss, only to kiss him again, harder and _desperate_. His hand trails over Essik’s thigh, mapping out _new_ skin, claimable skin_._

Essik trembles to his warm touch, and he's beautiful here like he's beautiful everywhere, skin smooth and flushing and perfect. He moans against him, against his insistent lips and searching tongue and bracing grip, and Caleb enjoys the sensation of having Essik pressed up between the couch and _him_, shaking to Caleb's every touch.

Caleb grins, and brings his thumb up to trace Essik’s bottom lip again. “Get my hand wet, Shadowhand.”

Essik blinks at him, and then smiles_,_ opening his lips. Caleb feels the warmth around his finger, feels Essik's tongue running along the side of it the way Essik sucked his dick, and Essik actually sighs around his fingers as Caleb gently pushes in his index finger.

Caleb moans, eyes screwing suck as Essik sucks, and he drops his head to continue marking Essik’s chest as he softly adds fingers to his mouth. “Absolutely _sinful_, I could watch you forever.”

Essik takes his fingers well, eyes fluttering shut as he sucks on them. Caleb can feel every slight shift of his jaw, can feel him tracing over each one of those fingers and swivelling his tongue around them, and he grins as he feels the vibrations of Essik's moans as Caleb bites into his collarbone.

Caleb groans at that, pulling his fingers away so he can kiss Essik again, his slick fingers wrapping Essik’s cock. He strokes him, gently.

Essik smiles into his mouth, sighing as his hand runs through Caleb's hair and his other curling around his waist, fingers digging into his shoulder. "_Fuck_, Widogast," he manages, and then he's kissing Caleb again, lips claiming on Caleb's.

Caleb grins, and squeezes a little tighter as he kisses Essik. Harder, more tongue and lips and far less _control_. “Tell me,” Caleb hisses between them, thumb running over the head of his cock. “How does one _take_ the Shadowhand?”

Essik's fingers tighten on his shoulder as he feels Caleb's rough thumb, and his breath is uneven as his flush on his face deepens. "_Fuck_," he repeats, moans really. "On his front."

Caleb lips stretch into a wider smile, and he kisses him again, desperate and hard. He only breaks it to let Essik breathe, and runs his tongue up the shell of Essik’s ear, voice low as he whispers. “_Then get on your front._”

Essik is... trembling as he shifts himself, Caleb allowing him just enough room to turn and get on his knees. Caleb watches his movements, and hears Essik exhale, after a moment, "It _has_ been a while." Voice attempting at composed but betrayed by the way he shakes around the lilting syllables. "S-so. Keep that in mind."

Caleb smiles, and wraps his arm around Essik’s waist. He just holds him against his chest, and kisses Essik’s back lazily, his voice against his skin. “You’re the one in charge here, Essik. I promise.”

Essik leans back and turns his head, hand against Caleb's neck as he draws Caleb into a kiss. "Well, then." Essik smirks, dark eyes glittering. "How about you _fuck_ me?"

Caleb smirks, and bites down on his shoulder. “Where would I find oil?”

Essik hums under his breath. "_See_, we would find it in my bedroom, but that would begin a long and arduous series of events I'd rather avoid." He snaps his fingers, his spellbook materializing in front of him, and Caleb watches with his lips quirked as Essik leans back, Caleb continuing to trail his teeth along his shoulder, and _casts._ Black energy concentrates on his hand, tightening into itself until it forms an object, a vial, and then Essik snaps his fingers again, the spellbook disappearing. "I truly love magic," he says, the conversational tone only interrupted by the sigh as Caleb bites again into the crook of his neck.

The hand around Essik’s waist finds his cock again, and he squeezes, his voice low in his ear. “I’m interested in your _bedroom_, by the way.” Essik's soft, momentary gasp at Caleb's fingers curled around his dick is immensely satisfying. He grins as he pulls back, and opens the vial, spilling some into his hand. “I’m gonna use my fingers first.”

"It's been such a while," Essik sighs, "that I find myself unsure if my bedroom is secure enough to allow someone else in." Caleb can hear the smile in his voice. "I won't make that mistake again." He leans lower, hands against the arm of the couch. "And _please_ use your fingers."

Caleb raises an eyebrow, and carefully presses one of his slick fingers into Essik. He moves slow at first, in awe of how tight he is. “It’s hard to imagine you making mistakes,” he hums, leaning over to press kisses against his spine. “How’s that?”

Essik whimpers just a little, and exhales sharply through his teeth. "Good," he says, arms trembling. Caleb smiles against his skin. "_So_ good."

“Good.” Caleb hisses, wrapping his free hand back around Essik’s cock. “Gonna add another finger.”

Essik's hips twitch, momentarily thrusting into Caleb's hand around his dick, before he stills himself. Caleb continues to mark his back, running his tongue over a particularly dark bruise, and Essik shivers. "Okay," he sighs, fingers tightening on the arm of the couch.

Caleb adds another finger as he reaches for Essik and kisses him while he curls them. Essik’s gasp is truly beautiful, everything about him is. His hair looks good disheveled, Caleb thinks it should maybe be this disheveled more often, and his soft moan is captured in Caleb's lips. So are the continued gasps as he moves those fingers. Caleb kisses him, softly, positioning his fingers _just _so. “You look good, being taken care of. It should happen more often.”

Essik sighs, eyes all hazy and half-lidded. "You make being taken care of enticing." He closes his eyes, breath uneven. "_Fuck_," he moans, and he kisses Caleb again, with teeth clacking and their tongues against each other and so much _desperation_.

Caleb smiles against the heat of it before reciprocating, fingers never stopping, and he turns his focus to the kiss, to Essik, to making the Shadowhand _keen. _Their kisses are hard, nearly bruising in their intensity, and Caleb moves his fingers through it, stretching them apart and grinning against Essik's muffled groans that he captures into their kiss. It's when he curls his fingers up and bites into Essik's jaw that Essik makes this desperate sound that Caleb was chasing, that he could tell from Essik’s deepened flush that he can't quite believe came out of his mouth. Caleb moans into Essik’s neck, his own desire making his sharp mind foggy, and he runs his tongue over bruises he finds. “You really did make me work for it, but _fuck_, aren’t you _worth it_.”

Essik sighs, hips jerking into the pressure of Caleb's hand on his cock as he lets out a stuttering moan. "_Please_," he says, voice breathless. "_Please_ fuck me." He tilts his head to give Caleb easier access to his neck, leaning to Caleb's touch.

Caleb grins, pulling out his fingers. “Of _course_, Shadowhand.” He empties out the rest of the vial so he can slick his dick, and he bites at Essik’s spine as he does. “I’m going to _fuck_ you.” He murmurs. “But you _tell me_ how you’re feeling or I’ll be _upset_.”

"Swear by the Luxon," Essik murmurs, sighing as Caleb marks his back. He tilts his head to watch Caleb stroke his own dick, eyes dark as they trace over the Caleb's hips and his own marked thighs. A smile plays on his lips. "And we wouldn't want you _upset_ now, would we, Caleb?"

Caleb drapes himself over Essik’s back, kissing and biting as he lines himself up to Essik, a playful lilt to his husky voice. “No, Essik, you want me here to make you _happy_.” His fingers dig into bruised hips as he slowly pushes in.

Whatever retort Essik has planned trails into a moan as he lowers his head, fingers tightly clenching the arm of the couch as he exhales through trembling breath.

Caleb watches the beautiful red cloth ripple under Essik's touch.  He catches his breath, his head spinning. Essik is so tight and so warm, and he trails open mouth kisses against his shoulders. “You’re _incredible_, Shadowhand.”

Essik clenches around him as the praise leaves his lips, this momentary tightness that makes Caleb moan against Essik's skin before he bites right above a shoulder blade. "Don't I know it?" he says shakily, his voice a little too raw for the playful smugness to land where he likely intended for it.

Caleb groans, and he rolls his hips a couple times, desperate to move. “Is it alright, Shadowhand, if I _fuck_ you now?”

"_Yes_," Essik hisses. Caleb watches him momentarily clench his shoulder blades in anticipation.

Caleb sighs, running a hand over Essik’s shoulders before he reaches around to take Essik’s cock in his hand again. He kisses his ear once before he _fucks_ him.

Essik moans to his touch, his arms tensing as the thrust pushes him forward. His thighs are trembling where Caleb's fingers dig into his hips, and he sighs Caleb's name as Caleb thrusts in again, establishing a rhythm to his movement.

Caleb hums under his breath, listening to the way Essik whimpers, so different from the composed smirk the man usually offers. It’s beautiful, the way Essik’s mouth is open, the way his hips push back into Caleb like he can’t get enough of this, the way his eyes are closed, the way he trusts him. “Fuck if you aren’t the most beautiful person in this country.”

Essik's laugh is perfect, this breathless shaking sound that makes Caleb's fingers only tighten on Essik's bruised hips. "Well," he sighs, and then he smiles. "_You're_ in this country now."

Caleb runs his tongue up Essik’s neck, teeth nipping at his ear. “Agree to disagree, because nothing”—he squeezes Essik’s cock a little tighter, drawing out that _moan_—“will ever beat that face.”

Essik pushes back against him, head tilted so he leans into Caleb's touch. He clenches around Caleb at the compliment, hands fucking trembling as he braces himself up. "Maybe so," he gasps, and there's nothing more perfect than seeing that smile where his head is tilted, that satisfied curve to his lips wrecked as Caleb thrusts into him again. His lips part into a whimper. He's so damned _perfect_.

Caleb moans_,_ his rhythm jerking a little. “I love that being told how _good_ you are turns you on.”

Essik grins. "But are you _surprised?_" He sounds smug despite—or _because of_, maybe—how wrecked his voice is.

“No.” Caleb smirks, biting into Essik’s shoulder. “But the closer you get to coming the more smug I feel.”

Essik sighs, head dropping a little. "You should feel _very_ smug, then."

Caleb nearly _snarls._ He sounds so _pleased_ with himself. “Are you close, Shadowhand?”

Essik rolls his hips against Caleb's fingers curled so tight around his cock, this pleased moan escaping past his lips as he pushes back against Caleb. "_Yes_," he hisses, and he clenches around Caleb's dick too, this perfect tightness that causes a stutter to Caleb's rhythm. He pulls back a hand, gently touching Caleb's own slightly trembling thigh for a moment, and he smiles. "Aren't you?"

“_Desperately_,” Caleb moans, mouthing against his neck. “But not before _you_.”

"_Oh_, then," Essik sighs, shuddering as Caleb runs a tongue over a bruise. "Make me _come_, Widogast." He tilts his head, catching Caleb's gaze. "Caleb." He swears his entire body—his arms, his marked chest, his thighs—are shaking with Caleb's thrusts. "_Please_," he demands, and Caleb smiles. Even Essik's begging is proud.

Caleb  groans, and he finds Essik’s hand and laces their fingers together. His pace becomes  relentless, and he grins into the bruises. “_Come_, Essik. For  _me_.”

Each thrust pushes Essik forward, the force making him keen, and Caleb watches how his shoulder blades clench as his back arches, coming against the arm of the couch. His fingers tighten on Caleb's, and somehow their intertwined fingers feel more intimate than anything else they've done today, the tension slowly starting to leak out Essik's body as he braces himself for Caleb's continued movement.

Caleb groans, barely able to pull out before he’s coming on the back of Essik’s thighs, and he manages to catch himself with his free hand before he collapses over Essik. 

Their fingers are still laced.

He laughs softly as he sees Essik already casting _Prestidigitation_ on the couch, something so completely on brand that it can't but make his heart expand out in his chest as he pulls the Shadowhand—the _Shadowhand_, he thinks, the magnitude of that a little intimidating to think about, _of the entire Kryn Dynasty_—onto his lap. Essik smiles at him and kisses him, lips soft against his, and he looks _pleased_. Caleb sighs, gently fixing Essik’s hair. “Absolutely _incredible._”

Essik flushes and his eyes run over Caleb's face once more, watching his expression contemplatively. "... I underestimated Jester Lavorre," he confesses, grinning as Caleb's blackened fingers run through his white hair. "Her ideas are rather good ones." He grimaces momentarily, but it's a small frown, just barely flitting across his lovely face. "She's going to be so _smug_."

“Jester is usually right.” Caleb sighs, playing with his hair. “And she will be _so smug._”

Essik pouts. It's a strangely open expression on the Shadowhand. Caleb files that information away. Essik Theylas gets all soft and open after he's fucked out. "I... can't believe how much prompting I needed to make the slightest move." He sighs, leaning against Caleb's chest. "I wouldn't be surprised if the two of you had a bet running on it."

“That isn’t very tasteful,” Caleb chides him, a fond smile on his. “And she thought it would take at _least_ another month.”

"And how about you?" Essik runs a finger over the bruises along Caleb's collarbone.

Caleb runs his hand down Essik’s back. “I wouldn’t have lasted another month.”

Essik’s eyes flit to his face at the heat in those words. "Thank you for pushing me," he says, after a moment. The earnestness of what he's saying makes him flush, but he says it anyway, exhaling as he feels Caleb's languid fingers trailing against his skin. He's so warm, and Essik leans up, kissing him. "Thank you for not letting this dance drag into another month."

Caleb blushes at that, and he kisses him softly. “I’m not as patient as you are, and I was beginning to think you didn’t think I was _serious_.”

"The blue one is rather adorable," Essik says, like he's giving Caleb a huge concession by admitting it. "I didn't want to... interfere." He laughs softly. "Though of course it was her who told me to get off my ass."

“The blue one also loves to be right, more than anything.” Caleb grins. “She’ll demand to see your marks.”

Essik makes such a face that Caleb has to smirk. "Oh no," he says mildly.

“Good thing I gave you options.” Caleb gives him a wicked grin. “I couldn’t leave your skin unmarked.”

Essik runs a hand over his jaw, bruised and obscene like the rest of him. "My marks are going to be rather _obvious_ to her," he says, but his voice is amused, not really bothered. His glittering eyes seem to dance, and he looks at the couch and then to the intricacies of the room they're both laying naked in. "I don't think I _can_ get up for at least another five minutes." He smirks. "And I don't _want_ to float away either." He exhales, and remembers how he's not very good at this. "Would you just sit with me for a moment?"

Hm. Essik thinks that might've been the most vulnerable little—_leetel_, Jester would say, her voice is quickly becoming _a_ voice in his head—thing he's said in a while. He's in really deep with this one.

Caleb smiles, and wraps his arms around Essik, letting his eyes close. “Of course. And perhaps next time, you can come over and I can treat you to a _bed_. I promise there’s _at least_ as much privacy as we have fucking in one of your studies.”

Essik's head is against his chest, and his hair falls over his forehead, soft and cool against Caleb's skin. "If I anticipated this turn of events after I showed you my experimental spells, I would've been better _prepared_, Herr Widogast." He sighs. "Can't wait to fuck you in a bed."

“I’ll have to insist, of course, that you _stay_ with me after.” Caleb tells him, his voice even. “As I am not that kind of person who likes being left after, Shadowhand. Will you be able to indulge me?”

Essik opens one eye and gives him the softest smile, chin against his chest. "I _love_ indulging you," he says. "Not that I consider it an indulgence. But I would stay with you." A kiss against Caleb's marked chest. "I'd _enjoy_ staying with you."

“Good,” Caleb grins, fingers back in his hair. “Because I truly do want you to stay.”

Essik exhales, and just closes his eyes, sinking into the sensation of the cool air and Caleb's calloused fingers and the rise and fall of Caleb's chest, his breath evening out as the afternoon continues in its lazy lull. There are things to be done, and Essik knows logically that there are plans for this afternoon, plans that involve conducting tests on his new project and reading reports and currying favour within the Bright Queen's council to prioritize the Laughing Hand matter over the numerous other entities that have been suspected to have been released through cult activity. And of course, the Chained Oblivion issue.

He stays here, and listens to Caleb's breath. And it's nice. He's nice.

Essik closes his eyes again and smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> You are the rite of movement  
Its reasonin' made lucid and cool  
I know it's no improvement  
When you move, I move
> 
> —Hozier, [_Movement_](https://open.spotify.com/track/1djzKW3eYLyzjjHXazEWWh?si=k8ExUSe-TyOZBFztC7UTpw)


End file.
